Operation Payback Strikes Italy, Hits FMIT, IFPI, and Pro-Music Websites

Anonymous has struck again - this time hitting Italy. The websites of FIMI (Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana), the Italian IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), and the Pro-music.it. Italy has been a hot bed of P2P controversy, especially after The Pirate Bay was blocked for the second time in February this year. These pro-industry organizations were instrumental in this, lending their support to the effort. FIMI was especially involved, being the organization that initiated the lawsuit which was eventually successful.

In retaliation, Anonymous has fired back. In a statement released today on Operation: Payback's homepage, Anonymous justifies their current target:

"The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is responsible for getting ThePirateBay blocked in Italy. Censorship is something used by fascists or dictators. Censorship is the opposite of democracy. With this act, the FIMI/IFPI is a threat to freedom. Everybody must realize that people will fight when they are oppressed, they will do whatever it takes to be free."

The "Low Orbit Ion Cannon" attack appears successful. At the time of this writing, all three websites are down - made significantly easier since they're all on the same server.

Current status as of 11 AM EST:

FIMI.it: Down
IFPI.it: Down
Pro-Music.it: Down